Masha = new number one?!?!

Apparently the brouhaha between Maria Sharapova and the WTA over that photo shoot in Rome is old news. Masha’s done venting (via her blog — how 21st century of her), she’s done posing (a 90-minute photo shoot, down from the 5 hours initially scheduled), and she’s now ready to prove her clay mettle at the Foro Italico.

She took out Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round. Also, she switched her Paris Tank and Skort from the Blue Chill of earlier this season to Dark Obsidian/Lilac Ice ($55; nike.com).

By the way, I know these top tier girls don’t really pay attention to their rankings (or at least they pretend not to when asked during press conferences), so I’d like to point out that Masha is taking over the top spot if Justine Henin, like Kim Clijsters, has requested her name be taken off the rankings list immediately.